NumListen · Japanese hundreds and thousands
Japanese hundreds and thousands: hear さんびゃく and はっせん, type the digits
Most Japanese hundreds and thousands are simple: にひゃく (200), よんひゃく (400), ごせん (5,000). But five common values change their sound — さんびゃく (300), ろっぴゃく (600), はっぴゃく (800), さんぜん (3,000), and はっせん (8,000). Once you know the rule, they still trip you up in real listening, because the changed sound arrives mid-number, inside a yen price or a large figure, with no time to work backwards from the kanji.
NumListen · Japanese hundreds and thousands
What this practice card trains
Japanese Irregular Hundreds & Thousands is a dedicated NumListen practice card, separate from Basic Numbers, because these readings are a recognition task in their own right. Set Japanese as the number voice language, open the card, listen to one complete number, and type only the Arabic digits — 300, not 三百 and not さんびゃく. The card keeps the irregular and regular forms side by side so your ear learns to hear ろっぴゃく as 600 without pausing on the unexpected p.
What you actually hear
A sample of the values this card contrasts. The app plays the full spoken form; you only ever type digits.
| Number | What you hear | What you type | Why it trips people up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 | さんびゃく / sanbyaku | 300 | ひゃく becomes びゃく after さん — a voiced b where the regular pattern (にひゃく, よんひゃく) has h. |
| 600 | ろっぴゃく / roppyaku | 600 | ろく loses its final syllable and doubles into っぴゃく; the p sound is easy to mishear as 800. |
| 800 | はっぴゃく / happyaku | 800 | Same っぴゃく ending as 600 — only the first syllable (は vs ろ) tells them apart. |
| 400 | よんひゃく / yonhyaku | 400 | Regular. Learners who have just drilled 300 sometimes over-apply the b and expect it here. |
| 3,000 | さんぜん / sanzen | 3000 | せん becomes ぜん after さん — but 3万 is a plain さんまん, so the change only lives in the thousands slot. |
| 8,000 | はっせん / hassen | 8000 | はち shortens to はっ and the s doubles. 6,000 is a regular ろくせん, unlike 600. |
| 3,800 | さんぜんはっぴゃく / sanzen happyaku | 3800 | Two irregular readings back to back with no pause between them. |
| 8,300 yen | はっせんさんびゃくえん / hassen sanbyaku en | 8300 | A realistic price. The えん at the end is the only cue that the number is finished. |
Japanese
Which values change, and why
- Hundreds: 300 = さんびゃく (sanbyaku), 600 = ろっぴゃく (roppyaku), 800 = はっぴゃく (happyaku). Every other hundred keeps the plain ひゃく — にひゃく, よんひゃく, ごひゃく, ななひゃく, きゅうひゃく.
- Thousands: 3,000 = さんぜん (sanzen), 8,000 = はっせん (hassen). All others keep せん — にせん, よんせん, ごせん, ろくせん, ななせん, きゅうせん. Note that 6,000 is regular even though 600 is not.
- The reason is ordinary Japanese sound change: rendaku voices h to b or s to z after the n of さん, and gemination (the small っ) shortens ろく and はち before a p or s and doubles the consonant. The rules are consistent; the difficulty is hearing them at speed.
- These readings hide inside bigger numbers. 3万3千 is さんまんさんぜん, 68,000 is ろくまんはっせん, and ¥6,800 is ろくせんはっぴゃくえん — a regular thousand followed by an irregular hundred. Grouping by 万 and 億 is covered on its own NumListen page and practised inside Basic Numbers.
Listen, type, check
01
Set Japanese as the number voice
Choose Japanese from the number-voice menu on the NumListen home screen. This is independent of your app interface language, so the menus can stay in English.
02
Open Japanese Irregular Hundreds & Thousands
Pick this card instead of Basic Numbers when you specifically want repetition on さんびゃく, ろっぴゃく, はっぴゃく, さんぜん, and はっせん against their regular neighbours.
03
Listen to the whole number
Let the spoken form finish before typing. ろっぴゃく and はっぴゃく share their second half, and a following はっせん or さんびゃく can arrive with no gap.
04
Type digits, check, repeat
Enter the Arabic digits only, use Replay if you need to hear it again, and use Show Answer when you want to see the number and keep the loop going.
A dedicated Japanese voice, no silent fallback
Japanese has its own installed system-voice selection and preview in NumListen Settings. If no compatible Japanese voice is available on your device, the app tells you what to install rather than silently playing a different language. The voice reads はっぴゃく with a real doubled consonant, which is exactly what you need to train against.
Japanese hundreds and thousands FAQ
Why do 300, 600, 800, 3,000 and 8,000 sound different?
Two regular sound changes in Japanese. Rendaku voices the first consonant of a second element after certain sounds, so さん + ひゃく becomes さんびゃく and さん + せん becomes さんぜん. Gemination shortens ろく and はち before p or s and doubles the consonant, giving ろっぴゃく, はっぴゃく, and はっせん. The pattern is predictable on paper; the card exists because it is not yet predictable to your ear.
Is 6,000 also irregular?
No. 6,000 is a regular ろくせん (rokusen). Only 600 changes to ろっぴゃく. Likewise 8万 is a plain はちまん — the irregular forms are limited to the hundreds and thousands slots, which is why this card focuses there.
Does this card cover 万 and 億?
Not directly. Ten-thousands and hundred-millions are practised inside Basic Numbers, and NumListen has a separate page explaining how 万 and 億 grouping works. This card does include values like 3,800 and 8,300 so you hear irregular hundreds and thousands next to each other, which is how they appear in real prices.
Do I need to type kanji or kana?
No. Every answer is Arabic digits only — 300, not 三百 and not さんびゃく. The practice is entirely about converting the sound you hear into the correct number.
Can I use the app in English while practising Japanese numbers?
Yes. The number-voice language and the app interface language are independent settings, so you can read English menus while training Japanese number listening. NumListen is an iPhone app.
Stop second-guessing the p and the b
Short, repeatable rounds on exactly the five readings that change — さんびゃく, ろっぴゃく, はっぴゃく, さんぜん, はっせん — mixed with the regular forms until your ear stops flagging them as surprises.
Keep practising Japanese numbers
Japanese number listening practice for irregular readings and everyday formats
See every Japanese number format NumListen covers, not just this one.
Japanese 万 and 億: hear numbers grouped by 10,000, type them grouped by 1,000
Practice hearing Japanese large numbers built on 万 (10,000) and 億 (100,000,000) — いちまん, じゅうまん, ひゃくまん, いちおく — and typing the digits. Learn the four-digit grouping that makes 100万 equal 1,000,000.